One of the two co-founders of Hargreaves Lansdown will step down after more than 30 years at the investment group with his £600 million fortune boosted by a bumper dividend.

Healthy profits have prompted a one-fifth increase in the half-year dividend to 22.59p, handing a £21.6 million windfall to Stephen Lansdown.

He co-founded the company with Peter Hargreaves in 1981 and helped to grow it into a near-£3 billion constituent of the FTSE 100. The men remain the two largest shareholders, between them owning a stake of just over 50 per cent. Mr Hargreaves — whose dividend payment is £34.5 million